Fruit juice extractor



May 11, 1943. w. P. KOCH 2,318,784

FRUIT JUICE EXTRACTOR Filed March 15, 1941 lmmlml IMIIIFIIIIE Patented May 11, 19 a.

P I g v 2,318,784"

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRUIT JUICE EXTRACTOR William I. Koch, Chicago, 11]., assignor to Chicago Die Casting Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Illinois Application March 15, 1941, Serial No. 383,476

2 Claims.

There are several types of small machines or presses, suitable for household use, that are adapted to squeeze half oranges or lemons to extract the juices therefrom. So far as I know, all of such machines 01' presses have their working parts mounted on pedestals rising from fairly large bases which are intended to provide stability when the machines are operated.

The object of the present invention is to produce a fruit-squeezing machine or press which shall be light and compact and be. adapted to be attached to a vertical wall so as always to be in position for use, when required.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in central vertical section, of a device embodying the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a plan view, on a smaller scale, with the operating handle shown in section.

Referring to the drawing, i represents an upright frame member adapted to be placed against a vertical wall represented by the dotted line A and be secured to the latter by screws B. Integral with the member I and projecting forwardly from the lower end thereof, is a sturdy arm 2. In the front end of this arm is a frustoconical hole 3 the axis of which is vertical, and the smaller end of which is at the bottom. At the upper end of the member I is a second sturdy arm 4 which projects forwardly. The front ends of the arms 2 and 4 are joined by a vertical bar member 5 so shaped that the axis of the hole 3 lies about midway between the upright portion of the bar 5 and the member I. Overlying the arm 2 and the lower inturned portion of the bar 5 is the usual cup-shaped receptacle 6, which is provided with a frusto-conical spout extending down into and fitting the hole 3.

Resting loosely within the receptacle 6 is a lower die member 1, the exterior surface of which of sheet metal and is provided with perforations 8 distributed over substantially the entire area thereof. V Above the receptacle is a presser foot 9 which, in shape, is quite similar to the lower die member I, although somewhat larger in over-all diameter. Therefore, when the presser foot, or upper die member, is lowered upon the lower die member, the latter is nested therein while the reentrant portion III of the upper die memberextends down into the cavity ll of the lower die member. It will be seen that by employing cooperating dies which consist of the usual hemispherical shells, but with their central portions pressed down, the overall height of the dies is reduced by almost one-half. This permits the use of a supporting frame that is comparatively short in the vertical direction, while allowing the dies to be spread far enough apart to permit the insertion of a half orange, such as indicated at C in Fig. 1. v

The upper die membr 9 is fixed to the lower end of a vertical rack bar l2 that extends up through a long longitudinal slot l3 in theupper arm 4; the rack bar lying well forwardly ofthe vertical axis of the dies and having its teeth I4 directed rearwardly. Positioned within the slot l3, behind the rack bar, is a toothed segment I5 held in place by a pivot pin l6 and meshing with the rack bar. The segment is provided with a handle l8 that extends rearwardly and then upwardly when the segment is in the position in which the upper die is held at the upper limit of its movement; the free upper end of the handle at this time being spaced far enough away from the wall to permit it to be grasped. The handle is massive enough to serve as a counter-weight for the upper die member and the rack bar and thus cause the upper die to remain raised, after having been brought into that position, until the handle is pulled forward and down.

The device being fastened to a wall, as shown in Fig. 1, and the upper die being up, the user need only place a half orange, cut face down,

- on the lower die, as shown, and then pull the is that of a more or less hemispherical dome of which the central portion has been pressed down; thus forming a more or less hemispherical cavity of a depth almost equal to the height of thev die as a whole and of a maximum diameter only slightly less than the diameter of the base of the die. The die may conveniently be formed handle forward, in order to squeeze the juice from the orange. While one end is employed to operate the handle, a cup or glass may be held under. the spout to collect the orange juice. During the process of squeezing the orange, it is turned partially inside-out so that the skin approximates the shape of the lower die except that the part corresponding to the skirt portion of the die will not be as deep as that of the die. This way of manipulating the orange makes it possible to squeeze the orange drier than is practicable with the usual squeezing devices, without employing nearly as great a pressure on the handle as is usually applied in an effort to get all of the juice out of a half orange by means of one of the ordinary types of squeezers. This is due to the fact that the half orange is supported by the soft pulp which rests on the narrow, rounded annular ridge I! which connects the top of the reentrant portion of the lower die with the surrounding skirt portion. As this ridge is forced into the pulp, the central mass of pulp is pressed down from above and, the surface thereof increasing in area, is torn apart to provide free escape of the juice as soon as the pulp is pressed against the underlying die face.

It will be seen that the segment [5 makes more than one-third of a revolution during a complete down stroke of the rack bar. Therefore, the operating handle swings into an almost vertical position in front of the frame during the last portion of the closing movement of the upper die. Accordingly, since very little force is needed to squeeze the orange until the dies are almost closed, the maximum pressure exerted on the handle by the user is in the rearward direction, namely, in the direction tending to press the device as a whole against the wall to which it is attached. By this construction the fastenings between the device and the wall are relieved of any objectionable stresses that would tend to tear them loose from the wall.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described, consisting of a flat, continuous, one-piece, vertical metal frame surrounding a large central opening and adapted to stand edge-on with its rear edge in engagement toa vertical wall thatis to support the same, the rearmember of the frame containing openings for fastenings adapted -to secure the frame to the Wall, the lower member of the frame LII containing a hole extending through the same from top to bottom at about the middle thereof, a removable juice receptacle containing a lower die lying directly above the lower member of the frame and having a discharge spout extending through said hole, a lower, circular die arranged within said receptacle, the upper member of the frame containing a long slot extending lengthwise of that member from top to bottom to a point far forwardly of the vertical axis of the aforesaid receptacle and lower die, a vertical rack bar extending through said slot at the extreme forward end of the latter, a toothed segment located and rotatably supported in said slot behind and in mesh with said bar, a circular upper die secured eccentrically to the lower end of said rack with its axis coinciding with the axis of the lower die, and a handle extending rearwardly and then upwardly from said segment when the rack bar is at the upper limit of its movement.

2. A device of the character described, consisting of a flat, continuous, one-piece, vertical frame surrounding a large central opening and adapted to stand edge-on with its rear edge in engagement to a vertical wall that is to support the same, a juice receptacle containing a lower die lying directly above and supported by the lower member of the frame, a lower, circular die arranged within said receptacle, the upper member of the frame containing a long slot extending lengthwise thereof from top to bottom to a point far forwardly of the vertical axis of the aforesaid receptacle and lower die, a vertical rack bar extending through said slot at the extreme forward end of the latter, a toothed segment located and rotatably supported in said slotbehind and in mesh with said bar, a circular upper die secured eccentrically to the lower end of said rack with its axis coinciding with the axis of the lower die, and a handle consisting of a short section that extends rearwardly from said segment and a longer section that extends upwardly from the shorter section when the rack bar is at the upper limit of its movement; the

parts being so proportioned that the longer section of the handle extends down in front of the frame-when the rack bar is down.

WILLIAM P. KOCH. 

